St. Clair County Dedicates New Domestic Violence Center to Victim Tracy Fogarty with Help from Federal and Corporate Grants

On Wednesday, October 27, 2011, the St. Clair County Attorney’s Domestic Violence Center at 300 W. Main Street in Belleville, Illinois, dedicated its new center to victim Tracy Fogarty.

Swansea, IL (PRWEB) November 9, 2011 – United States Senator Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) was on hand to help St. Clair County dedicate its new Domestic Violence Center to Tracy Fogarty, who was a victim of domestic violence that ended in murder on July 27, 1990, in Belleville, Illinois.

Made possible through a federal grant under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and funding from St. Clair County, the new center will house a multi-disciplinary team composed of prosecutors, a Victim and Witness Coordinator, and an Administrative Assistant from the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office’s Domestic Violence Unit, two deputies from the St. Clair County Sheriff’s department, a St. Clair County Probation officer, and an advocate from the Violence Prevention Center.

Grants and donations from corporate partners, including Target, Juggle.com, Digitalartz, Miller Investment Company, Ben’s Crafts & Florals, and The St. Louis Bread Company, also helped to make the dedication of the center a possibility.

One of the largest corporate contributors was Juggle.com, a local company who donated computers, printers, scanners and other electronics to help bring the center up-to-date. Laura Reppert, St. Clair County Assistant State’s Attorney and Supervisor of the newly named Tracy Fogarty Center, said, “Not only was the software out of date, the computers were as well. Police conduct video interviews of victims, witnesses, and suspects and we review those in making charging decisions. Because our technology was so outdated, getting the videos to work was extremely difficult and time consuming. The donation from Juggle enables us to do our jobs better and more efficiently.”

With a more than doubled case load, having up-to-date equipment was on the top of the priority list. “We’ve charged 120% more cases this year than last year. We are doing our best to hold offenders accountable for their actions various ways, including victimless prosecutions,” noted Reppert.

Victimless prosecutions allow prosecutors to proceed on criminal charges without the victim’s cooperation. They do this through the use of independent witnesses, 9-1-1 recordings, and other means. “It’s not the victim who makes the decision whether to charge an offender. It’s the evidence. That’s why it’s so important for people who experience and witness abuse to speak up,” said Reppert.

For more information on or to make donations to the Tracy Fogarty Center, please call (618) 277-5165.